Shedeur Sanders sets new record for single-season passing yardage at Colorado

While the Colorado Buffaloes have been struggling for several weeks, one of the bright spots for their 2023 campaign has been the superb play of quarterback Shedeur Sanders. He was in the Heisman conversation during the first few weeks of the season. On Friday night against Washington State, Sanders tossed a 45-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to Travis Hunter. The pass etched his name in the Colorado record books forever, as he became the single-season passing yardage leader for the Buffaloes.

Check out the graphic.

Our new season passing yards leader! What a throw @ShedeurSanders!! pic.twitter.com/MaBPSxHaKW

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) November 18, 2023

He broke the previous school record set by Sefo Liufau, who threw for 3,200 yards in 2014.

Sanders has carved up defenses all season long and he’s done it behind a historically bad offensive line. He’s been sacked 52 times this year–the most in the nation.

Sanders has been bruised and battered for much of the year. He got sacked four times in the first nine plays on Friday night against Washington State.

Sanders had to exit the game with an injury for a series, eventually returned to break the school record, but then headed to the locker room to get checked out again. At the beginning of the second half, he was seen on the Colorado sidelines in street clothes. The program officially ruled him out for the rest of the Washington State game.

He’s completed over 65 percent of his passes for 3,230 passing yards, while tossing in 27 touchdowns with three interceptions.

Sanders’ best game in the 2023 campaign came against the TCU Horned Frogs, when he completed 38 of 47 passes for 510 yards, while tossing in four touchdowns with no interceptions. He helped to lead the Buffaloes to a 45-42 win over the Horned Frogs.

He also found freon in his veins in the final seconds against the Colorado State Rams, leading the Buffaloes to a stunning 43-35 comeback win in double overtime. Sanders completed 38 of 47 passes for 348 yards, while tossing in four touchdowns with an interception.

Another special performance came against the Stanford Cardinal, even though the Buffaloes blew a massive lead in that game. Sanders completed 33 of 47 passes for 400 yards, while tossing in five touchdowns with one interception.

While it’s been a rough year for him and the Buffaloes, he can still appreciate putting his name in the Colorado record books among the program’s all-time greats. Moving forward, the team will clearly need to fix the gaping holes on their offensive line.